A new concept for muon catalyzed fusion reactor
A new concept for a muon catalyzed pure fusion reactor is considered. To our best knowledge this constitutes a first plausible configuration to make energy gain without resorting to fissile matter breeding by fusion neutrons, although a number of crucial physical and engineering questions as well as details have yet to be resolved. A bundle of DT ice ribbons (with a filling factor f) is immersed in the magnetic field. The overall magnetic field in the mirror configuration confines pions created by the injected high energy deuterium (or tritium) beam. The DT material is long enough to be inertially confined along the axis of mirror. The muon catalyzed mesomolecule formation and nuclear fusion take place in the DT target, leaving ..cap alpha../sup + +/ and occasionally (..cap alpha mu..)/sup +/ (muon sticking). The stuck muons are stripped fast enough in the target, while they are accelerated by ion cyclotron resonance heating when they circulate in the vacuum (or dilute plasma). The ribbon is (eventually) surrounded and pressure-confined by this coronal plasma, whereas the corona is magnetically confined. The overall bundle of ribbons (a pellet) is inertially confined. This configuration may also be of use for stripping stuck muons via the plasma mechanism of Menshikov and Ponomarev. 15 refs., 2 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Texas Univ., Austin (USA). Inst. for Fusion Studies
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG05-80ET53088
- OSTI ID:
- 7080472
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ET/53088-320; IFSR-320; ON: DE89001774
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
700101* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Confinement
Heating
& Production
CONFINEMENT
DESIGN
HEATING
HIGH-FREQUENCY HEATING
ICR HEATING
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MUON-CATALYZED FUSION
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
PLASMA HEATING
SYNTHESIS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS